The New England Genetics Collaborative at UNH’s Institute on Disability announces grant opportunities through its Innovative Project Award Program. This annual funding program, now in its fourth cycle, encourages short-term creative projects that meet emerging needs in the field of genetics. Proposal requirements include sponsorship by one of the NEGC’s collaborative council members and a maximum budget of $30,000. The NEGC will award a total of $100,000 for 2010-2011.

Primary care and specialty care providers, public health professionals, non-profit professional associations, consumer support and consumer directed organizations and others interested in genetics services in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are encouraged to apply. Applicants have the opportunity to secure funding for up to two consecutive grant cycles.

Project letters of intent are due April 15, 2010, and application packets are due June 1, 2010. For more information, including the Innovative Project guidelines and application form, an activities timeline, and links to previous Innovative Project awards and outcomes, visit http://www.negenetics.org/innovative.html.

For more information about the NEGC Innovative Project Award Program, contact Karen Smith, project coordinator, at 2-3454 or karen.smith@unh.edu. For more information about the NEGC and future funding initiatives, visit www.negenetics.org.

Funded by a federal cooperative agreement from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the NEGC promotes collaborations between the medical community, public health professionals, educators, advocates, and families in all six New England states. The NEGC partners with the Institute for Health Policy and Practice at UNH and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Clinical Genetics and the University of Massachusetts Medical School to enhance the services and supports for individuals with genetic disorders.

The Institute on Disability was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to advance policies and systems changes, promising practices, education, and research that strengthen communities to ensure full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons.